


a glimpse, a shimmer, a shadow

by adverbialstarlight



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Bickering, Exes, Exes to Lovers, Getting Back Together, Ish?? - Freeform, M/M, Minor Violence, POV Neil Josten, Parallel Universes, Politics, Quests, Reunions, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding, fuck yeah, more like two connected realms, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-05 05:03:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20483312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/adverbialstarlight
Summary: Three years ago Neil left the Fox Court and mystic Esoteric Realm under the assumption that he'd never see his family or his not-quite-boyfriend ever again. But the normal life he's built in the mundane realm gets flipped once again when Andrew finds him in New York with a quest that's nearly impossible not to accept. Neil must decide—either let himself be pulled back into the world he tried so hard to escape, or leave one of his friends at the mercy of the merciless Raven Court.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so excited for this fic holy shit. outlining was so fun and i'm posting earlier than i told myself i would, oops. also i think i have a thing for somewhat urban fantasy aus bc that's also the concept for my aftg coffee shop au lmao. but this time the title isn't from an all time low song (this one is from Fixin' by Walk the Moon, aka another favorite) so that's an improvement.
> 
> unbetaed so please pardon any mistakes. enjoy!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so excited for this fic holy shit. outlining was so fun and i'm posting earlier than i told myself i would, oops. also i think i have a thing for somewhat urban fantasy aus bc that's also the concept for my aftg coffee shop au lmao. but this time the title isn't from an all time low song (this one is from Fixin' by Walk the Moon, aka another favorite) so that's an improvement.
> 
> unbetaed so please pardon any mistakes. enjoy!!

It was painfully obvious that Neil did not belong here. From his bright, almost iridescent eyes to the dark ink of court markings spiraling up his left forearm and feeling of detachment to his surroundings, there might as well have been a neon sign pointing down at him that read **OUTSIDER **in bright, blocky letters. 

Still, he pretended. He pretended not to notice the feeling of something almost like _homesickness _sinking in his stomach. He pretended that he didn’t think about the life he’d once built for himself in the Fox Court a lifetime ago. More specifically, he pretended that he didn’t think about the surly blond with hard eyes and gentle touches who he’d left behind at the court. 

Sitting in the middle of a bar and surrounded by a glass city a whole realm away, those memories felt like something from a dream. New York was nothing like the courts, with its screens and noise and mundanity. It was why Neil had chosen to live here rather than anywhere else in this realm, deciding that, the less there was to remind him of the Fox Court and its inhabitants, the less he’d think about it. For the most part, Neil had succeeded in these past three years. 

But the universe was a strange, meddling thing. As Neil knew far too well, it never let things last forever. 

Someone plopped down on the stool beside him, shifting before leaning forward on the counter to wave over the bartender. Neil didn’t look up from his untouched glass of whiskey. He’d learned to suppress his paranoia in public places by now, to feign indifference despite his body’s sudden alertness to the stranger. There was nothing special about this person, they were just another patron at this bar who did not know who Neil was. 

“Johnnie Walker Blue. Whole fucking bottle,” an all too familiar voice requested in a bored tone. 

Neil’s head whipped towards the stranger on its own, the rest of his body still frozen. It was too much of a coincidence. Either this was a mass hallucination or Andrew was _here_, in the Prosaic realm, tossing a hundred dollar bill on the table and unscrewing the cap of what Neil knew was his favorite whiskey. 

Quickly, his eyes roamed over the planes of Andrew’s face, noting subtle differences and similarities alike. It was undoubtedly him, from the set of his eyebrows to the faint scar over his right eyebrow from the time he’d had a piercing there before Wymack announced it as a safety hazard. Neil wasn’t sure if he wanted to push him off the stool or pull him into a corner and kiss him, if only to prove that he wasn’t a mirage. 

Andrew turned towards Neil as he took his first sip, eyebrow quirked. 

_Staring_, his expression said. 

Neil had to look away, feigning indifference as he refocused on his drink. He wasn’t going to do this. He wouldn’t give him a reaction, wouldn’t demand to know why he was here or how he’d found him. Was it petty? Incredibly so, but Neil didn’t really care. 

Before he’d abandoned the Fox Court, there had been something between them. A spark of fire, the start of something brilliant, steady and powerful. Andrew was familiar in a way that not even his mother had been to Neil, and they worked well together on the field. Things had been good, great even, but then Neil had ruined it all. It had been three years since he left, but he still wasn’t sure if he could face Andrew yet. Or any of the paladins of the Fox Court for that matter. 

They sat in silence for a few moments as the bartender gave Andrew a wary look and took the money. When he was no longer within earshot, Andrew said, “Wymack wants you back at the court. There’s a quest.” 

Neil gritted his teeth. “Tell him that I’m unavailable. Get one of the others to do it, I bet Kevin would jump at the chance to go on another quest,” he said. 

Andrew leveled him with a long, flat stare that Neil turned to reciprocate immediately, his arms crossed over his chest defensively. Neither of their gazes waivered, even as Andrew took another swing of whiskey. It was a familiar game, one that almost always ended in a tie. 

There was a slight glow in Andrew’s hazel eyes indicating he was from the Esoteric Realm like Neil. Even now he found it a bit mesmerizing, but he pushed that thought away quickly. He was surprised Andrew did nothing to cover the glow, even if it wasn’t bright as Neil’s own eyes. There were people idiotic enough to believe that kidnapping or killing one from the Esoteric Realm would bring them good luck or bring magic to the Prosaic Realm, and Andrew, no matter how powerful, was a walking target for them. 

Finally, Andrew scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Idiot,” he told Neil. Warmness bloomed in his chest at the familiar words, but Andrew’s next words froze and shattered it like ice. 

“That’s the fucking quest. Kevin’s gone.” 

Neil’s voice was calm despite the panic and uneasiness churning in his gut. “What do you mean Kevin’s gone?” 

“I mean he’s gone. The Raven Court stole him right out of the Trojan court and took him to Evermore and now you have to go save his ass,” Andrew said, voice mocking. “Why else would Wymack as you to go?” 

Neil supposed it made sense. He’d grown up in the Raven Court on the Wesninski estate, so he knew Evermore better than some of the other paladins in the Fox Court. And besides that, he was one of the few people who tolerated Kevin enough to have any motivation to invade the Raven Court and bring him back. 

“What about you?” Neil asked Andrew. “You know him better than I do.” And he hadn’t been disengaged from everything to do with the Esoteric Realm for the past three years. 

Andrew gave him a humorless laugh before taking an extra long gulp of whiskey. “Why do you think I’m the one talking to your stupid face instead of a messenger?” 

With a jolt of dread, Neil finally understood. Of course Andrew wouldn’t have come all the way here just to harass Neil and leave, it was never that simple. They were being assigned this mission _together_. 

“Fuck,” he breathed out. “Is Wymack crazy?” 

Just the prospect of going on a quest had seemed impossible, but going on a quest with Andrew? Neil couldn’t fathom it. They had been one of the best teams in the court once, sure, but anything and everything that made their dynamic work had been destroyed years ago. Putting them on a mission now— and to the fucking Raven Court of all places— would only end in disaster. 

Andrew, as always, shrugged in indifference. “So are you coming or not? The Gatekeepers all got bribed by the Moriyamas so we need to track down a side portal back to the court.” 

Neil scoffed. “Of course not. I’m… It’s been three years, Andrew, I can’t,” he said. “And I’m fine here. This is my home now.” 

Unimpressed and undeterred, Andrew leaned forward until their noses nearly brushed and said lowly, “Stop lying to yourself, Neil. It’s not a very good look on you.” 

His breath smelled faintly of whiskey, though his eyes were clear and determined. Neil hated how his pulse quickened from the proximity, how his face seemed to warm and his fingers stopped tapping at the glass clenched in his hand. He made sure to keep his eyes focused on Andrew’s face, not trusting that he’d be able to keep them from dropping to his lips. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Neil replied, another lie and they both knew it. But then he leaned back a bit, putting a bit of distance between them before he did something stupid. 

Able to think a bit clearer, Neil shifted his thoughts back to Kevin. He genuinely cared about him, and he knew what the Raven Court and the Moriyamas were capable of, firsthand. If Kevin had any chance of rescue, it was with Neil and Andrew, no matter how broken their relationship had become. But there was still a chance they’d fail, that they would find Kevin too late or not at all. 

“I’ll think about it,” Neil said. “But this is not a yes.” 

With that, he put down a few dollars on the counter for the bartender and hopped off the stool. He did not look back to Andrew as he slipped out of the bar and into the night. 

**✦✧✦**

“Fuck you. Why should I even trust you?” 

The other boy looked down at him, a hazy but curious glint in his eyes as he leaned on the crowbar that had just been used to hit the intruder. “You shouldn’t. But you have to anyway if you want to become one of us. Being another little fuck up doesn’t cut it for anyone but Wymack.” 

There was nothing else to lose. He was tired of running and knew this would be his best bet for safety. If his mother were here, he’d be scorned for such a decision, for staying so close, but she was gone, what did it matter? 

Having made up his mind, the boy looked up with hard eyes, the color muted behind the contacts but still glowing faintly. “Fine,” he grit out. 

The blond boy grinned sarcastically and dropped the crowbar, using his now freed hand to yank his companion to his feet. “Fantastic,” he said with artificial enthusiasm. “Welcome to the Fox Court, _Neil_.” 

**✦✧✦**

Two days went by, and Neil could almost pretend the encounter with Andrew had only been a dream. 

He was riding the subway from work— a small, family owned bookstore in Brooklyn— when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Confused, Neil put the bookmark in his book and pulled the phone out of his bag. No one texted or called him, with the occasional exception of his manager, and least of all at ten o’clock at night. 

When his eyes skimmed the contact name and the following text, Neil nearly let his book slide off his lap, gripping the sides of his phone tightly. 

**[10:13 PM] Andrew: **make your mind up soon. you can’t just ignore everything forever 

Scowling, Neil shut off his phone again, but he was no longer able to focus on his book. He didn’t even want to know how he’d managed to take his phone without Neil noticing, and long enough to put in his fucking contact information. 

But as annoying as it was, Andrew was right, there wasn’t time to sit here wasting time debating whether he wanted to go or not. His reasoning not to go was all bullshit, Neil and Andrew both knew it. And yet, he still he clung. 

The train screeched to a halt and a woman on the other end of the car got off. There were still three stops before the stop Neil usually got off at, but he had too much pent up energy and too much time to wait. Before the doors slid shut again, Neil slipped out and started for the exit. 

This late, there were few people and Neil was out of the tunnels in only a minute or two. He stopped atop the stairs and made note of the streets, mentally mapping out his route home. 

He slipped through the occasional crowds like a shadow, alert but lost in thought as he walked down the familiar streets. Once again it was painfully obvious how _foreign_ he was here. It was Friday night, and instead of going out with friends or a date, he was walking home from the closing shift and tearing himself up over a decision that really shouldn’t have been that hard. 

Neil thought he knew what he was going to do, but if he was so sure, why was he still hesitating? Was having to spend an extended amount of time with Andrew really not worth saving their friend? Kevin was strong, but Neil knew that being back at Evermore probably drained all that strength and courage in mere moments. 

His hand reached for his pocket, ready to pull out his phone. As if on cue, it buzzed twice in rapid succession then went quiet again. Quickly, Neil pulled his phone out. 

**[10:25 PM] Andrew: **wymack has received an update on the situation 

**[10:25 PM] Andrew: **they think the wesninskis are involved 

Neil’s frown deepened, and despite the growing pit of dread in his stomach, alongside it was a firm feeling of finality. His hands did not shake as he typed out the reply, and once he hit send, Neil continued down the street as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t just signed his own death warrant. 

He supposed that was nothing new, he’d always had a bad habit of tempting fate. 

**[10:27 PM] Neil: **I’m in. When do we leave? 

**[10:28 PM] Andrew: **11pm tomorrow in chinatown. i’ll be waiting 

**✦✧✦**

A group of teenagers sat in a circle on an embroidered rug. They were all looking at one boy, with tattered clothes and a haunted look that was all too familiar to each and every one of them. Some greeted him with warm smiles or nods of acknowledgment. Some of them stared in stoic, analytic silence, as if trying to put the boy together like a puzzle. Among them was the boy he’d met earlier, the one who’d hit him with the crowbar upon breaching the wards. Still, the boy stared back at them defiantly with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Neil,” one of the girls said. “I’m sorry your first impression of the court was not the most pleasant, but I hope you find it as much of a home as we do.” She grinned brightly, and a few of her other companions nodded in agreement. She seemed the picture of kindness, with pastel hair and a warm smile, but the boy watched her warily. He’d bet anything that she was the worst of them, even deadlier than the boy with the crowbar. 

He knew what the Fox Court was, he knew what its residents were like. There was a reason he and his mother always avoided it. The Fox Court was one of the most powerful courts, and besides the Raven Court, considered the most dangerous. It was filled with convicts and criminals and smugglers. Magic wielders— who had the power to do more than just loosely guide magic, which was the extent of most of the Esoteric Realm’s abilities— and ex Gatekeepers. Runaways and betrayers. 

If anything, he should’ve fit in here perfectly. But the boy knew that was just more reason not to trust them. Breaking into the Fox Court had by far been his stupidest decision yet. But little did he know yet, it was also his best one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and first chapter is done!! the plan was to have at least two chapters done before posting but i'm excited as fuck ok. this means maybe a week or two until the next chapter but things will actually get interesting then i promise. also, i low key took the concept of multiple courts on one magical continent from a court of thorns and roses and the concept of a sort of secret magical coexisting world to our own from the shadowhunter chronicles lol
> 
> feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, i might even info dump shit about the magic and lore i made up to you!! or leave a kudos, either way, i'll cry. see you next chapter!! (or, if u want, [twitter](https://twitter.com/adverbialnouns) or [tumblr](http://adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com))


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter 2! i lied and there's actually not too much more but we've got some world building shit, hell yeah. enjoy!!

It didn’t take Neil too much time to gather up the few possessions he actually cared about. Even after he spent years at the Fox Court, his mother’s teachings never quite wore off. Though he’d felt safe in the Fox Court eventually, back then he was still able to keep everything in a maximum of two bags. Now was no exception.

There was a variety of mundane items from the Prosaic Realm lying around the main room of his apartment, but they were easy to leave behind and more of a front for normalcy than anything. He could find silverware and glasses anywhere, could pick up another sports magazine or coffee table for almost nothing, and all the furniture had come with the apartment anyway. Neil’s real possessions were locked in a chest beneath his bed, secured with a sealing sigil.

It was one of the few spells that almost everyone in the Esoteric Realm could use, as commonly known as a Beyoncé song would be in the Prosaic Realm. But almost no one here knew how to reverse a sigil so Neil trusted the sigil to hold his Fox Court relics.

Keeping them had been an accident at first. Objectively, in the Prosaic Realm, they were all useless. Trinkets that could be found in any of the hundreds of courts that didn’t need to be locked beneath a sigil and should be easy to discard for anyone who had lived in the Esoteric Realm for more than a year. Still, something stopped Neil every time.

He knelt in front of the chest and pressed a hand to the sigil, murmuring the reversal quietly. After a moment or two, the sigil began to glow and the lid popped open, free of its invisible lock. Neil pushed it all the way up and took out the three familiar objects.

The first was a long, thin crystal hanging on a gold chain. It looked like a piece of clear quartz one could find in either realm, a pretty but useless piece of jewelry. But this crystal was not just a rock. It was an amplifier, a tool that assisted the wearer in the conducting of magic.

Amplifier stones came in all shapes and sizes in the Esoteric Realm, large chunks of rock or long chains of beads that one could tie into their hair. However, Neil and many other court paladins wore their amplifiers in the form of simple, plain jewelry to prevent it from being a liability during a quest or a fight. Some of them had multiple, like Allison who had several pairs of extravagant amplifier earrings for when she was not on a quest. But Neil, never one for complexity, had only ever owned two.

His first was an anklet with a small bead attached to the string. It had been his from birth to when he fought his way through the Fox Court wards and the string was scorched into ash by the magic. The second was this necklace, given to him by Andrew when they struck their first bargain.

Neil supposed _being a gift from Andrew_ should probably be near the very top of his vast list of reasons why he should’ve thrown it out. At the same time though, that was more of a reason to keep it.

The second item was the medallion of a Gatekeeper. It was made of copper, the size of a quarter and intricately carved with the sigil that marked every single gate between the two realms. Gatekeepers, as their title suggested, guarded the official inter-realm gates. Becoming a Gatekeeper was considered one of the highest honors one could receive, it was proof that you were one of the realm’s most trusted— and one of its most dangerous— inhabitants.

His mother had been a Gatekeeper. It was why his father married her. Mary was powerful and ruthless, and like everyone else, Nathan knew to ally himself with her. In the end it meant nothing though, Mary was dead with only Neil and her Gatekeeper medallion serving as proof that she’d ever existed at all. He supposed he should’ve sold it the moment he was on his own, to get more money and cut all ties with his mother, but Neil kept it the rest of his time running and throughout his time at the Fox Court. It was one of the few things he knew he would never part with, no matter the circumstances.

The last item Neil pulled out was a dark, worn leather jacket with a multitude of pockets and loose threads. There was a small fox embroidered on one sleeve and his name stitched on one of the inside tags. All the paladins of the Fox Court got a jacket like it when they first began running quests, Neil hardly took it off in the three years he was there. The cut was based on Esoteric Realm fashion trends, far too dramatic to wear in the Prosaic Realm— though one could argue that the subway was exempt from this, that wearing it would make him blend in more than anything— so the coat remained inside the chest.

Neil wondered if he’d subconsciously known not to burn the coat with all the rest of his old possessions, that one day it would see use again.

Shoving the medallion and amplifier into his pocket, Neil closed the chest and pushed it back beneath his bed before standing up again. He tossed the jacket onto his bed and sat down next to it with a sigh, surveying the room. Clothing would not be much of a problem to find once in the Fox Court, and his satchel was long gone, so all that was left was notifying the bookstore and finding someone to watch the apartment for however long the quest would take, things that would take five minutes at most.

“All done,” he muttered to the empty room with a scoff.

There was still an hour until he had to leave for Chinatown, so Neil stood up to get one last decent quality meal before the quest. Since the Moriyamas and the Raven Court kept a close eye on the Gates and Gatekeepers, Neil assumed they’d be taking a backway. There were unofficial portals between the realms almost everywhere, but being covert and illegal, they couldn’t guarantee accuracy when spitting people out in the Esoteric Realm. They could end up halfway across the continent for all Neil knew, so he wasn’t going to rely on getting to the Fox Court within two hours at most.

Andrew would probably be carrying some sort of travel food, but food was never quite the right word for it. The Fox Court’s idea of “travel food” consisted mainly of dried fruit and protein squares that tasted like tissue paper. Neil had never been a fan of either, and he wanted to put off eating them as long as possible.

He savored the salty broth of his reheated hot and sour soup, scrolling through the short list of contacts in his phone. His landlord might be willing to turn the water on and off again every few days as long as he paid the next few months’ rent ahead of time, but she had been on vacation for the past few days and Neil wasn’t sure if she was back or not. There were also a few different coworkers and his manager, but Neil didn’t talk to any of them often enough to trust them inside his apartment, no matter how little he cared for it. The same went for the rest of his neighbors. That left one last person in his contact list.

Neil grimaced. He never enjoyed talking to her, but what other choice did he have?

“Ugh,” he muttered. Looking away from the screen, he hit the “call” button hovering next to Marissa’s name.

They’d been coworkers at the last job Neil had, as a waiter in a small café down the street that closed down the year before. Neil wasn’t very fond of her— and definitely not in the way she was of him— but she often helped him clean the tables and would work the register if Neil wasn’t feeling up for using his customer service smile.

The phone began to ring, and Neil took another sip of soup. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. He’d meant to delete her number right after she put it in there, and they hadn’t even seen each other since last September. Marissa probably wouldn’t even remember that one weird and skittish coworker from her old job by now.

Before Neil could fully change his mind and hang up, there was a click and a chipper voice said, “Hey, Marissa here!”

“Uh hey,” Neil started stiffly. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but uh, this is Neil. We used to work together at—"

“Oh my gosh, Neil? Holy shit, I haven’t heard from you in, like, forever! How are you?” she all but shouted, peppy as a cheerleader.

Neil put the phone further from his ear and tried not to roll his eyes. _Play nice_, he reminded himself. He couldn’t hang up on her now, there wasn’t much time left. Though his features didn’t change, he tried to put as much enthusiasm in his voice as possible.

“Hey, yeah, I’m fine,” he said. And then, not wanting to encourage more small talk, continued, “Look, I’m gonna be out of town because of an uh… family emergency and I don’t know how long it’ll be until I can come back. Can you take care of my apartment while I’m gone? You just have to stop by like once a week and make sure no one threw a rock through the window or something and that the pipes still work.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Marissa said. “That would be no problem, you can just text me your address if you’d like.”

Some of the tension finally left Neil’s shoulders and he leaned back in his chair. He remembered why Marissa was one of the few people he didn’t absolutely hate at that job. She was always ready to help people out, even people who were ex coworkers that lived in a sketchy neighborhood. “Really? That’d be great. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.”

“Of course, it’s no problem,” Marissa said. There was a pause and then she added, with an all too familiar tone, “When you get back, maybe we can get dinner together or something. Catch up or something, yeah?”

And then Neil remembered why, even though she was kind of nice, he still did not consider her a friend. “Uh, we’ll see what happens I guess,” he said, carefully choosing his words so they couldn’t be misinterpreted. “I’ve got to get going now, bye.”

Then, without waiting for a response, Neil ended the call and texted Marissa the address quickly as possible. He tossed his phone on the table and stood. He hadn’t been lying, it was time to go. Neil went to the bedroom to grab his paladin jacket and headed back out for his shoes. After locking up and slipping the key in the small fold of rubber where the door met concrete, Neil started for Chinatown in case Marissa decided to make a surprise early visit.

He did not look back at the building when he started the descent into the subway tunnels. This place needed no goodbye from him, even if it might’ve been the last time he’d ever set foot there. As much as he’d tried convincing himself of it in the past, Neil knew the Prosaic realm had never been his anyway.

**✦✧✦**

“What the hell are you doing here.”

It was not phrased as a question, but the boy with green eyes and brown eyes clearly expected an answer. He must’ve thought himself to be intimidating, with his height and low voice and proximity, but the other boy was unphased. They both knew he’d seen people far worse before. Both of them had.

“The same as you,” he replied. “Seeking safety from the Raven Court.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. The Fox Court was infamous for its amnesty, not just its recruitment of unsavory paladins. The boy called Kevin was a prime example, he’d come here only a few months ago after an unsuccessful quest for the Raven Court, rumored to have fled here out of fear and shame. Some probably called him a coward for it, a traitor even, but the boy knew better. He knew that getting out of the Raven Court alive was one of the boldest things one could do.

“Alright,” the older one said after a moment. “Do not speak about your ties to the Moriyamas here. Unless if you want to get hunted down and killed, I suggest you keep anything about it to yourself.” He still had a wary look in his eyes, analyzing and cautious. But when he spoke again, the words were soft, kinder. “I hope you end up liking it here as much as I do, Nathaniel.”

“It’s Neil now,” the boy corrected immediately, trying not to grimace at his old name. “It’s been Neil for a while, actually, but thank you.”

The other nodded. “Alright then. Welcome to the Fox Court, Neil. This is not the Raven Court.”

_Good_, he wanted to say. Or perhaps, _I know that, it’s why I’m here_. Instead, all that came out of his mouth was a weak, “Thanks,” and he all but ran from the room.

In the hallway, the boy with the crowbar was leaning against the stone. He had the too-bored posture and smug manner of an eavesdropper, but he said nothing as the boy passed. Instead, he raised a single eyebrow as if to once again say, _I know you have a secret_, and watched him go.

Hopefully, the boy thought, that curiosity would wear off soon.

**✦✧✦**

“You’re late.”

Neil rolled his eyes as he approached Andrew, stepping closer to the curb to let two women walk past before stopping in front of the table. “By two seconds,” he retorted.

Andrew hadn’t been specific on where to meet him in Chinatown, but Neil knew where to come anyway. They always stopped in New York when going on quests that required something of the Prosaic Realm, it was the easiest Gate to access from the Fox Court, and more often than not it dropped them in Chinatown.

There was a small, family owned restaurant in one of the older back corners of Chinatown, hidden behind large signs in English that advertised ice cream and vegetable carts. It was not aimed towards tourists, with a small sign and unflashy storefront with only one picknick table, but it was easily one of the best places to eat in the entire city.

Neil and Andrew liked it for not only the good food but also the quiet. They could sit in there for hours at one of the small wooden tables, usually in content silence or sometimes planning for a quest. Sometime since the first time they went, it became _their_ spot.

After he left, Neil didn’t even step foot in Chinatown. It reminded him too much of Andrew. And so of course, the first time back would be at the restaurant to meet Andrew. It almost felt like old times, but Neil shoved that thought away as he sat down on the empty side of the picknick table.

“Semantics,” Andrew replied dismissively. He opened the latch on his bag and pulled out a thin, tablet-like device and set it on the picknick table. Not bothering to be subtle because of the lack of people around, he muttered the incantation and a holographic map blinked into existence over the surface.

Magic was more difficult for even those born in the Esoteric Realm to do when in the other realm, but to everyone’s— especially Kevin’s— awe and usually annoyance, Andrew never seemed to have that difficulty. When he bothered trying, he could harness and control magical energy itself as well, but it was rare. He preferred to rely more on his own wit and strength as most did, which is why Neil was slightly surprised to see him use any magic for something as simple as drawing up the map.

He raised his eyebrow in question, but it was ignored by Andrew. Instead of explaining, he pointed to a building a few blocks away that was tinted in a glowing purple. A portal location. Neil tried not to grimace. He’d been through too many illegal Gates— usually just referred to as portals— to count over the years, almost all of them with his mother. But the most recent was three years ago when he escaped the Esoteric Realm.

_You were expecting this_, he reminded himself. Neil schooled his features into neutrality despite knowing just how pointless it was. “Where’s the source?” he asked steadily.

Andrew shrugged. “The rest of us do actually have connections over here, it wasn’t just you. It’s reliable.”

Neil’s facade almost cracked, but years of training from his mother and the court suppressed the flinch well. “I was just asking,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Andrew obviously didn’t believe him, but Neil didn’t care. He glanced at the map again, quickly memorizing the path before swiping the hologram away.

Leaping up from the bench, he glanced down at the paladin jacket in his arms. Andrew was already wearing his of course, but something stopped Neil from putting on his until they were actually in the courts.

They approached the indicated building far too soon, and Neil tried not to sigh. He stopped at the door but Andrew went up and knocked impatiently on the red wood door to the bar called Eden’s Twilight. There was nothing stiff or wary in his posture, the steps familiar as if he’d been here before. But Neil couldn’t imagine why, Andrew hadn’t been in Chinatown since the last time they were there, had he?

After a moment, the door swung open and a man grinned widely at first Neil and then Andrew. “Hey,” he greeted him. “it’s been a while, yeah?”

Andrew shrugged. “Court things. We need to use the portal.”

“We?” the man asked, head tilting.

Though he looked slightly miserable doing it, Andrew nodded first at the man in the door and then Neil. “Roland, Neil. We have a quest and the Moriyamas are limiting Gate access.”

“Oh,” Roland said. He looked slightly disappointed but nodded, pushing the door further open. “Come on in, you know where it is.”

Andrew didn’t even bother to thank him and instead headed straight inside. Making a beeline for the curtain blocking off the far back left corner, he barely took in the loud bar around them.

Neil, on the other hand, had to try incredibly hard not to stare. Eden’s Twilight was not like other bars in the Prosaic Realm, there was something that felt almost like the weight of magic on them, the alcohol was copious, and the dress code seemed to be black leather. He raised an eyebrow at Andrew and bit back a snort as he let himself be dragged through the parting crowd.

Eventually they made it to the wall and Andrew shoved aside the curtain. Behind it was a small stash of different bottles of alcohol, arranged carefully into the shape of the Esoteric travel sigil. Roland appeared a moment later and pulled out a piece of chalk, scratching sigils and symbols into the correct places. Once finished, he looked to Andrew, who began murmuring the portal incantation.

“So where’re you headed?” Roland asked Neil.

“Fox Court,” Neil replied shortly.

His eyes were locked on Andrew walking to the six points of the sigil, leaving the chalk on the ground glowing in his wake. Somehow, Neil had forgotten just how enrapturing Andrew could be when performing actual magic like this, his voice low and melodic, hands careful and practiced as he directed the energy through the sigil’s energy points.

When Andrew reached the last point, a portal began to form at the center of the six points, glowing bigger and brighter every second. He opened his eyes once it reached the edges of the hexagonal sigil and nodded to Neil.

“Well uh, thanks for letting us use your portal source,” Neil thanked Roland stiffly.

“Yeah, no problem. Good luck on your quest,” Roland said. “I haven’t seen Andrew on a quest around here in a while, it was cool to see him again.”

Something about the tone of Roland’s voice made Neil’s insides shift uncomfortably, so he only nodded and stepped towards the portal.

“After you,” Andrew told him sarcastically, gesturing with one hand.

“Always so kind,” Neil said. He stepped up to the chalk line and then onto the iridescent portal, feeling the cool chill of magic pulling at his foot. With a subtle breath, he stepped the rest of the way in and let himself be pulled through the ground and out of the realm.

Travel by portal was always strange, it took more time than a Gate and was less accurate even when magic user as strong as Andrew was directing it. Neil always felt dizzy when inside one, like he was mid summersault thousands of feet in the air. He closed his eyes against the light and waited for the tingling feeling to overtake him again when they reached the other side.

When it came and Neil fell out into a dusty, blue tinted forest clearing with Andrew, his heart nearly stopped. “Shit,” he muttered. “Shit, shit, _shit_.”

Andrew maintained his apathetic expression but echoed Neil’s sentiment.

This was not the Fox Court. They were close, probably three hours’ walk away if they were lucky, but time was useless in the Blue Brush.

Though some courts, like the Fox Court, used wards to protect their borders, many relied on the protection of the Blue Brush. It was a transporting forest that shifted at every half hour, a never ending maze that was not well known for letting people out in a timely manner. In other words, this was going to be a big fucking problem.

“Well, now would be a good time to start coming up with an actual plan I guess,” Neil said sarcastically. He sighed. It was going to be a long way to the Fox Court.

**✦✧✦**

The boy tilted his head curiously. “You don’t have any amplifiers,” he said.

His companion shrugged. “There isn’t much a point in having one.”

“Isn’t there, though?”

“I do not give out truths for free, Neil,” he replied. “Everything must be an equivalent exchange.”

The boy furrowed his brows. “What, like a truth for a truth?” He grimaced as he said it. That sounded like an offer, but he did not like giving away truths about himself either.

“Sure. So, yes or no?” The other boy looked at him inquisitively, hazel eyes like stars reflecting in the dim light.

For a moment, the boy hesitated. The warning from Kevin still rang in his head, the order to keep up a lie and only let a few truths slip through. This was a bad idea, everything about Andrew was, and yet, he found himself say, “Yes.”

The other boy dug around in his pocket for a moment then tossed something in his direction. Quickly, the boy caught it before it hit the ground. When he opened his palm, there was a simple amplifier necklace in the palm of his hand, warm to the touch.

“Wh—”

“I had one. Now I don’t have any,” the boy said simply, nodding at the necklace. “It seems hypocritical to preach the importance of those when you have none yourself. Why don’t you?”

They remained sitting on the rickety old table near the lake until sunrise, trading simple answers that held small truths and inexplicable trust. Later in the morning, neither mentioned it. However, the amplifier stone now sat steadily on its chain by the boy’s heart— the only tangible evidence that it hadn’t been a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact, the restaurant is actually based off a real chinese restaurant in chinatown that i absolutely love. they actually do get lots of local customers (+ me, the coloradan tourist) but the boys are edgy so i had to make it a bit different. hope yall liked this chapter, i killed my wrist and put off sleep for this one lol. and thanks to everyone who left a comment/kudos on the last chapter, it made me super happy! until next time and good not-night-anymore :D

**Author's Note:**

> and first chapter is done!! the plan was to have at least two chapters done before posting but i'm excited as fuck ok. this means maybe a week or two until the next chapter but things will actually get interesting then i promise. also, i low key took the concept of multiple courts on one magical continent from a court of thorns and roses and the concept of a sort of secret magical coexisting world to our own from the shadowhunter chronicles lol
> 
> feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, i might even info dump shit about the magic and lore i made up to you!! or leave a kudos, either way, i'll cry. see you next chapter!! (or, if u want, [twitter](https://twitter.com/adverbialnouns) or [tumblr](http://adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com))


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